"Shaping the Future", the Early Years Action Plan Phase 1 Report, which was published on 17th December 2025, adopts a phased approach that allows for rapid action to improve affordability, accessibility and quality, while also ensuring adequate time for a broad public consultation as committed to in the Programme for Government. It fully acknowledges the importance of public consultation due the nature and scale of reforms under consideration in the medium-term to achieve the Government’s objectives.
Shaping the Future is ambitious in outlook and it will take the full lifetime of the Government to complete but the issues it addresses are affecting families, providers, educators and practitioners here and now. There is a need for rapid action. That is why the Phase 1 report contains actions to be undertaken in 2026. These short-term actions in Phase 1 build on recent reforms to the National Childcare Scheme and Core Funding, and use existing policy mechanisms to strengthen affordability, access and quality.
Phase 2 actions will be undertaken from 2027 through to 2029. Before these medium-term actions can be specified, a broad public consultation will be undertaken, in line with the Programme for Government commitment, and additional data-gathering and analysis will be undertaken to inform planning. Phase 2 actions will be published later in 2026.
The consultation will be carried out in two stages:
• The first stage will form part of the National Conversation on Education, which will precede the Convention on Education that is a commitment in the Programme for Government. It will involve wide consultation on the strengths and challenges in early learning and care and school-age childcare provision, and on the role of early learning and care and school-age childcare within the education system. Consultation methods will include a national survey.
• After completion of the National Conversation on Education, more specific consultation will be undertaken to explore questions raised not only in the Phase 1 report but also during the first stage of consultation.
It is the intention to capture a range of varied perspectives during the consultation process, recognising the breadth of stakeholders in early learning and care and school-age childcare.
Full details on the consultation will be announced in early 2026. I look forward to hearing from all our stakeholders during this important consultation process.
